Wales has the worst UK waiting times record for life-saving tests, according to the latest figures. Government statistics show that around 42% of people in Wales waiting for diagnostic tests had to wait more than six weeks before they were finally seen. This compares with 1.8% in England and 3.8% in Scotland.
The statistics also show that 16.6% of patients on the Welsh diagnostic waiting list wait longer than 12 weeks. In Northern Ireland, 15.5% on the list had to wait more than nine weeks. Doctors have described the statistics as incredibly worrying and further proof that the crisis in the NHS in Wales is worsening.
A Carmarthen-based doctor, Dewi Evans, who has been working in the health service since 1971, said early diagnostic tests were important because they could be a matter of life and death. The checks – such as MRI scans and cystoscopies – can be used by medics to check whether a person has cancer.
Evans said: "These investigations are the mainstay of early and accurate diagnoses of life-threatening conditions. In terms of significance, these are the most disturbing NHS statistics I have seen in many years."
The Labour administration in Cardiff Bay has come under repeated attack for its NHS record since it returned to power in the Welsh assembly in 2011.
As well as ambulance waiting times repeatedly failing to meet key targets, calls have been made for a public enquiry into death rates at Welsh hospitals.
But the nationalist party Plaid Cymru said the situation was getting worse, after it collated official figures on diagnostic waiting times.
The Welsh government said claims made by Plaid were a "complete distortion". A spokeswoman said: "Despite the pressures on the NHS, access to diagnostic tests is improving.
"However, the health minister, Mark Drakeford, acknowledges waits are still too long in some cases, and last month announced £5m of new funding to help the NHS reduce waiting times for those scans and tests where there are particular challenges.
"Speeding up access to these tests will mean that patients get the results faster and can start their full treatment sooner. We expect waiting times for diagnostic tests to come down."